Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo: 600 Suspected Cases, WHO Warns of Further Rise

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 600 suspected Ebola cases and 139 suspected deaths, with figures expected to increase further due to delays in detection.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that 51 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the first case was reported, and two in neighboring Uganda.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Tedros said the outbreak of the Bundibugyo species of Ebola likely began “a couple of months ago.”

On Sunday, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern but said the outbreak was not at pandemic level.

Tedros said that after a Tuesday meeting, the WHO emergency committee agreed the situation was “not a pandemic emergency.”

“WHO assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels and low at the global level,” he explained.

The 51 confirmed cases in DR Congo are in the eastern Ituri province, the epicenter, and North Kivu province. Both of the two cases confirmed in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, had traveled from DR Congo.

“We know the scale of the epidemic in DRC is much larger,” Tedros added.

The first known case was a nurse who developed symptoms and died on April 24 in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri.

The body was repatriated to Mongwalu, one of two gold-mining towns where the majority of cases have been reported.

Four areas in Ituri have been affected: Mongwalu, Bunia, Rwampara and Nyakunde.

In North Kivu, rebel-controlled Goma, eastern DR Congo’s largest city, and Butembo have reported cases.

DR Congo is facing its 17th Ebola outbreak, but the Bundibugyo species, not seen for more than a decade, presents unique challenges.

Bundibugyo has caused only two previous outbreaks, killing about one-third of those infected.

No approved vaccine exists for Bundibugyo, though experimental ones are in development. A vaccine for the Zaire species, which DR Congo has faced multiple times, may offer some protection.

No drugs target Bundibugyo, complicating treatment.

Years of conflict in eastern DR Congo add further challenges to containing the virus.

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